Dani Walker finished twelfth in the 5000-meter at the United States Junior National Championship at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. Her time of 17:42.76 is her all-time 5000m PR.

Tucker Peabody finished seventeenth in the 100m in 10.80 and was disqualified in the 200m after stepping on the line three times. His time before the disqualification was 21.60.

“I’m very happy with what we accomplished here,” said Lipscomb coach Bill Taylor. “Dani took two weeks of rest after the track season, and has done just four weeks of early summer cross country base training since. I really didn’t know what to expect from her in terms of time.

“To go out and run a PR so early is a gigantic confidence booster. It showed physical ability, physical toughness and mental toughness.”

Taylor viewed Peabody’s experience at the Junior Nationals as a great learning opportunity.”

“It wasn’t the performance we wanted,” said Taylor. “But there are so many things he can learn from this.

“First and foremost, he needs a lot of work on his starts. He was very late out of the blocks in the 100m, and stepped on the line off the start in the 200m. The things learned from these races will pay off next track season.”

To qualify for the United States Junior National Championships an athlete must meet a qualifying standard in each event and the Junior classification is limited to athletes who are fourteen (14) years or older on the day of competition and will not become twenty (20) years of age during the year of the competition.

The 2011 USA Junior Outdoor Championships served as the selection meet for the 2011 Pan American Junior Championships. The top four finishers are asked to register, with two being selected to compete.

“The whole experience for Dani and Tucker was amazing. To be at this level of competition only helps prepare both of them for future success. It was also really fun for them to be able to watch the senior races each day and learn from the best.

“It was a very valuable meet for us. I am really looking forward to the upcoming Cross Country season!”